Benoit, Hampshire hold off Woodstock North
Hampshire started strong and finished strong against Woodstock North Friday night.
In between, though, the Blue Thunder made things interesting. After watching a 19-point lead shrink to 5, the Whip-Purs turned on the jets again and pulled away to a 56-44 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division girls basketball win in Hampshire.
Junior Emma Benoit scored 10 of her game-high 26 points during the fourth quarter as Hampshire restored its double-digit lead. Benoit, who now has 974 career points, also had 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
Peyton DeChant added 10 points and Rachel Dumoulin 7 for the Whip-Purs (17-5, 8-1).
Hampshire led 38-19 early in the third quarter, but Woodstock North outscored the Whips 15-4 the rest of the period. Ashley Jones led the charge, scoring 12 of her 16 points during the period, including a couple of key 3-pointers.
When Kristy Darling drained a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter, suddenly the Blue Thunder was within 5 at 42-37. But a 3-pointer by Nikki Dumoulin and a basket by Benoit helped right the ship. Benoit scored 10 of the Whip-Purs' final 11 points to keep them safely in control.
"In the second half they came hard at us," said Hampshire coach Mike Featherly. The Whips got the momentum back "by going back to what we do well: moving the ball well, taking care of it, and just playing solid half-court defense," the coach said.
Hampshire helped the Thunder out by missing 7 of its last 8 free throws and finishing 3-for-10 for the game. That contrasted with the Whips' shooting from the field, where they made 52 percent of the shots on which Woodstock North was allowed to play defense.
Benoit scored 10 points in the first quarter as Hampshire opened an 18-9 lead. Even with Benoit sitting most of the second quarter after hitting the floor hard, the Whips extended the lead to 32-17 by halftime. DeChant picked up the scoring slack with 6 second-quarter points. She also finished with 5 rebounds as Hampshire outrebounded the visitors, 27-18.